Costuming Goals 2021

I start every year with some lofty goals.  I rarely complete all of them and often end up completing entirely different projects as situations arise that demand that.   I have the materials for everything here with some small exceptions.

I'll start the year with two UFOs.  

1.  I intend to complete my quilted petticoat hopefully by the end of January but definitely by the end of February.  I will also make a pair of quilted pockets, completing one before our Feb. skills weekend at the end of the month.   This is a lengthy project.

2.  Wool long sleeved Italian Gown.  I cut out the bodice and have the lining and bodice back pieces all pinned together to be seamed.  Then I put it down as I knew I wouldn't get it done for our Feb 2020 weekend.  I plan on finishing this during the winter along with a couple small accessories to go with it: a 1780s ruffled apron and a ruffled neck handkerchief.

3. 1790s Round Gown --V&A.  I really love this gown which is believed to have been refashioned from an earlier gown.  I've had the lightweight Indienne below in my stash and it seems like it would make a nice version of this gown to wear in warmer weather.

4.  Mrs Izard's 1776 sacque and cap.  I like that this is a later sacque and I think this ensemble would be a good one for one of the impressions I do.

The photograph doesn't really show the color.  It's a shot silk with tan and turquoise so the color changes as the light hits it different ways.

5.  Mrs. Coffin's mourning ensemble--sacque, cap and jewelry.  I've always loved this portrait.  I copied Mrs. Coffin's neck handkerchief in 2018 and I have everything to complete her gown, cap and jewelry.  

6.  Short sacque.  I've had the striped silk for about 5 years so it's time to get on this one.  I want to keep it fairly simple and I like this one though I think it needs a different stomacher.   This will most likely warrant a new silk covered hat to go with it as well.

So I don't find myself stuck in the 18th century all year, I decided to upgrade my Edwardian wardrobe.

7.  Truly Victorian 1903 S-bend corset

8.  I've been saving this image for a couple of years.  I love the gown in the middle.  I found the fabric quite by chance when shopping at a local fabric store in Pittsburgh.  It couldn't be more perfect.  The challenge is determining the architecture of this gown.  Edwardian gowns are deceptively complex which is what makes them so fascinating.

9.  New princess slip and drawers to wear under the above gown.  My current princess slip and French drawers are simply too full to be worn under a hobble style skirt.  So in my usual vein of constructing things from the skin out, those will be made before the gown.

10.  Edwardian white gown.  Here are 3 extants for ideas.  I have a sizable stash of antique insertion lace and it's time to use it up.  I lean toward something with a lot of shaped lace insertion like the gown on the right.   I'll work on the design when I'm ready to make this.

Other stuff to be made:  18th century mitts--white leather with fagotting, white silk with fagotting, white silk with embroidery;  Caps--1790s large ornate cap TBD, mid 17th century winged cap with lace;  Aprons--2 1780s ruffled aprons.   

Various vintage fashions are on the agenda but I don't count them as "costuming" since I wear them as my contemporary clothing.

2020 Costuming Year in Review

It's that time of year --where I take stock of what I accomplished and what I failed to accomplish. Normally I'd wait until the end of the month but since I'm doing Christmas sewing from now until then, I don't anticipate getting anything new made.  Here are my costuming accomplishments for 2020:

1, 2.  Two silk hoods:  One taffeta and one silk velvet.  To be honest, these were started in 2019 and the finishing details were done on New Years Day.  The silk taffeta one is copied from a New England example in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.  I created a downloadable pattern for these which is available on the blog post.   Blog post here.

3.  Fur trimmed velvet cloak:  Detailed blog post here.

4,5,6.  Mrs. Russell's outfit:  1760s brown silk gown, antique linen with lace handkerchief, lace trimmed lappet cap.  Detailed blog post here.

7,8.   Yellow Silk Damask gown with petticoat and lace pinner cap.  Blog post here.

Inspiration images

9.  1760s Indienne gown:  Detailed blog post here.

10.  Garnet silk hat.  Blog post here.

Based on this hat in the V&A

11.  Black silk tulle mourning handkerchief trimmed with lace.

12.  Moretti masks.  I almost hesitate to list these but they were quite labor intensive so I figured I would.  They are based on period images and a research piece by Phillipe Halbert.

13, 14.  Lambskin mitts of purple and claret.  Detailed blog post here

15.  Sultana with petticoat and sash.  Detailed blog post here.

16. Sheer linen cap trimmed with lace.

17 .  Long term project carried into next year:  Quilted petticoat.  Series of blog posts here.  I hesitate to list this but the time involved so far exceeds that of making of a number of gowns.  Here are a couple of progress shots.

Reflecting on what I accomplished, it occurred to me that everything was 18th century.  I really focused on studying different decades and what distinguishes them from others which made me feel that I had a good amount of variety.  The past couple of years have also had some Regency and Edwardian projects but not this year!  I'm planning though!   Next year will have more variety!